US House Passes Procedural Vote on Competition Law Including $52 Billion Semiconductor Support

Final Vote Expected on the 4th... Legislation to Proceed After Coordination with Senate Competition Law

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Major foreign media reported on the 2nd (local time) that the U.S. House of Representatives has completed the procedural vote process on the U.S. Competition Act, which includes a $52 billion semiconductor industry support package.

On that day, the House's procedural vote on the U.S. Competition Act passed with 219 votes in favor and 203 against. A procedural vote is a process to decide whether to proceed with a vote on the bill. According to congressional officials, the House is expected to hold the official vote on the Competition Act on the 4th.

If the House passes the bill, it will go through a reconciliation process with the U.S. Competition Act already passed by the Senate before final legislation. The Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act last June with 68 votes in favor and 32 against.

Both the Senate and House bills include a plan to allocate $52 billion to the semiconductor industry. Both bills aim to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in response to China. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi emphasized that the bill will serve as a catalyst to significantly expand (supercharge) investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry.

Congressional officials expect some amendments to be made to the House Competition Act ahead of the final vote on the 4th.

Democratic House members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush introduced an amendment last week to restrict semiconductor companies from using government subsidies for stock buybacks or dividend payments.

The House Competition Act also includes spending $8 billion to support the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The GCF is a UN-affiliated organization established as a special fund to support greenhouse gas reduction and climate change response in developing countries by developed countries.

However, Republicans argue that the GCF funds could actually help China and are pushing to remove the GCF support amount. Meanwhile, some Democratic lawmakers are calling to increase the GCF support by an additional $3 billion, leading to clashes between the two sides. Republicans have also expressed dissatisfaction that Democrats excluded them during the bill drafting process.

If the House passes the Competition Act, a new bill will be prepared through reconciliation with the Innovation and Competition Act already passed by the Senate. Afterwards, the reconciled bill will be passed again by both the Senate and House through a vote, followed by President Joe Biden's signature to become law.

The Senate bill includes $190 billion in support for technology and research to gain an advantage in competition with China. The House bill also includes a plan to allocate $45 billion to manufacturing sectors such as supply chains, health, and communications.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.